I didn't sleep.
Not really.
I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, listening to the house settle around me.
Every little sound made me think about the note.
ASK YOUR MOTHER.
But I already had.
She had given me almost nothing.
Twenty years ago.
Blackwood Academy.
The northern territory.
An incident.
A promise.
And now someone was leaving messages for me.
I turned onto my side.
Tomorrow was Friday.
The field study was Saturday.
I still hadn't decided whether I was going.
I closed my eyes.
Then remembered my mother's words.
Stay away from the northern territory.
Something told me she wasn't saying it because of a school rule.
---
The next morning, my mother left early.
She said she had errands to run.
I watched her leave through the window.
Then I remembered the drawer.
